The Fear Within
by ForeverDelighted
Summary: Everyone fears something, and Kimiko is about to face her darkest fear. After she and Chase Young get sent to an alternative dimension where the roles of good and evil have been reversed, she will have to find a way back while facing that which she fears. But will Chase Young help her face her fear? Or use it against her? Chamiko.
1. That Which Haunts

**The Fear Within**

**Full Summary:** Everyone fears something, and Kimiko is about to face her darkest fear. After getting sent to an alternative dimension where the roles of good and evil have been reversed, she will have to find a way back while facing that which she fears. But will Chase Young help her face her fear? Or use it against her?

**(A/N)** This is my first Xiaolin Showdown fanfic, so hopefully you guys and gals like it. It is a Chamiko story though, something I'm rather nervous about, but I find it to be an interesting concept and seeing as it doesn't have many stories I decided to do one for all the fans of the pairing out there. Hopefully I'll do it justice. It takes place after the original series took place.

This was inspired by the episode 'The Evil Within' and also a bit of inspiration came from an episode of Charmed I watched a few years back with the demon of fear. Can't remember which episode.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of the characters from the show. Nor do I own Mulan which I have referenced to in this.

* * *

**'**_**There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you. Leave it there.' **_

_**Donna Favors**_

* * *

Every night, it's the same dream that hunts her.

Sometimes it follows her like a floating Spector into the waking world. She catches glimmers of the phantom like figure in the mirror, or reflected in the flames that she conjures. Only for the briefest of moments, and every time she turns to face it it's gone with the wind, leaving behind no trace it was ever there… or even existed.

The nightmare which stalks her is like an outer world experience. Kimiko can see herself walking down a cobblestone pathway down a graveyard at night. Somewhere a clock chimes twelve, signalling the witching hour's arrival. Scattered throughout the sides of the path, on gravestones, at the bases of withered, naked trees and at the edge of the path are candles alight with eerie blue, red, purple and white flames.

All around her mist floats, creeping by her and the dark silhouetted trees in the distance. A blue wisp hovers in the air, and she follows it as it leads her past unmarked gravestones and further into the dark cemetery. Once she passes each candle, like a dark curtain closing behind her, they extinguish.

A light, like a blazing red flame flares further ahead of her, and she can see a dark shape forming from the flame. The flame vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a dark shadow. The blue wisp she had been pursing dissolves into nothing as she gets a few feet away from the dark shape and sees that it's a mirror. A large mirror much larger than she, framed with silver flames and encrusted with blood red rubies. Blackened roots reach up from the ground and cling to it, slowly crawling up along the edges and touching at the top.

She approaches it slowly; one hand gently reaches out and tenderly touches the glass.

That is where the true nightmare takes place. For the moment her hand meets with the cool glass she can no longer see her reflection in the mirror. Gone is blue eyed Kimiko with her two pigtails at either side of her head and a sweet smile gracing her lips.

Instead the girl that looks back at her has a smirk on her face, a dark evil smirk that sends a shiver through her core. Her red robes are now jet black with golden flames soaring from the trims and edges. Her black hair falls down her back in one dark wave, with one long red streak of hair falling partly over one eye.

Her nightmare ends with a shuddering heart throb when the reflection opens her one unveiled eye. And despite being veiled by her hair, Kimiko can see the other eye shine brightly through the strands of red hair.

The eyes that stare back at her… are crimson red.

Just as they had been for the few brief moments she had left behind her good chi in the Ying Yang world during her battle with Wuya over the Black Beetle.

After this, she always wakes up in a cold sweat, tears in her eyes, and silent sobs shaking her body.

Then she forces herself to forget.

To forget the nightmare which plagues her.

To forget the fiery red eyes that haunt her.

And falls back into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

'_Ahh, what lovely weather_' Kimiko sighed contently, titling her sunglasses up to see the sun shining brightly high above her.

Currently, the young Dragon of Fire was lounging on a lounge sun bed in the temple gardens, basking in the glorious summer sunrays. Beside her, on a smaller lounge chair was Dojo. The small lizard wore a pair of dark shades and was holding a fold away mirror in front of him to catch more of the rays of sunshine. Not a breeze swayed the trees, making the air thick and clammy.

"You know what Kimiko, I could get use to this" Dojo began conversationally.

"And what's that? Dojo?" Kimiko asked, sinking further into her lounge seat.

"Oh you know; just sitting here, relaxing, no Shen Gong Wu setting my senses into haywire, some nice ice cold lemonade and this gorgeous heat. I may even be able to get a tan" Dojo said, lifting his sunglasses and examining his body for possible signs of bronzing.

"Too true Dojo" Kimiko nodded in agreement.

It had been a few days since the last Shen Gong Wu revealed itself, and in all honesty she wasn't complaining. Once the daily training and chores were out of the way, she and the guys pretty much had the rest of the day to themselves. Well, besides extra training in the afternoon.

Rolling over in her lounge chair so she was lying on her stomach, her arms tucked under her chin acting as a pillow, Kimiko let out a content sigh. Life was good. No having to fight the dark forces of evil. No having to prevent ten thousand years of darkness descending upon the lands. No having to look up, down, left, right, high, low, near, far for Shen Gong Wu that the forces of evil _may_ beat you to finding. No Xiaolin Showdowns. And the cherry on top of the cake, no evil trying to corrupt, manipulate and hurt her and her friends.

Nope, she didn't have to worry about any of that right now. All she had to do was focus on simple relaxation, catching up on her magazines to find out the latest trends back home, and getting to chat up with her friends and family.

Had she already mentioned that life was good?

"It's kinda weird though, we don't usually get temperatures this extreme. We gotta be a least in the sixties" Dojo added, taking a sip from his drink that was sitting by his chair.

"Really? Feels pretty normal to me" Kimiko shrugged.

"I'm not surprised; you are the Dragon of Fire of fire after all. Your use to holding a thousand degree flame in the palm of your hand" Dojo said between sips of his drink.

Kimiko lifted her sunglasses and tilted her head at the little dragon beside her. "Hmm, I never thought about it that way. I've always wondered though why is it I never burn when I produce flames. Is it the power of being The Dragon of Fire?"

"Yipe. You're fireproof. Another perk about being the Dragon of Fire is you won't even sunburn" Dojo said with a yawn as he stretched his muscles and repositioned himself conformably.

Kimiko titled her head in thought. Thinking back she couldn't recall any memories of her ever being sunburned. Unlike her poor papa who, using a Clay expression, would burn redder that a lobster dripped in oil baking in the dessert sun.

"Out of curiosity, what's the highest temperature I would be able to withstand?" Kimiko asked with an air of curiosity.

Dojo sat up at that, tapping his chin thoughtfully with his talon. "Hmmm, I wouldn't think there would be a limit on how high a temperature you'd be able to endure. I've previously seen Dragons of Fire create blue fire, which if I remember correctly from chemistry is about one thousand four hundred degrees!"

Kimiko rolled back over onto her back, starring up at the cloudless blue sky. Endless possibilities surged through her mind. How hot could she make her fire? Would she be able to tolerate the extremely high temperature of molten lava like the Black Beetle Shen Gong Wu could?

Momentarily, the fleeting thought of whether or not she could be engulfed in lava and survive the ordeal unscathed flickered through her mind. She lightly giggled it off, opting that it wasn't a theory she'd be willing to test.

Other questions ignited in her mind like dozens of tiny flames that with time and energy spent on them would expand and flare up more brightly as it became a possibility.

If she tried could she create other types of flames? Blue? Red? Violet? White?

A flare of excitement blazed inside her at all the possibilities ignited in her mind.

"Your limits, Kimiko, are something that I'm afraid you'll have to discover by yourself" Master Fungs words came from nowhere.

Kimiko blinked and a flush of embarrassment etched her cheeks as she realised Master Fung was standing directly behind her looking down at her. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him! She hadn't even heard him approaching!

"Tsk, tsk, Kimiko" Omi's chiding voice came from beside the elder monk. "As a Xiaolin warrior you must always be on top of your guard and expect the unexpected."

Kimiko let out a groan and sat up, swirling around to face the monks. If Omi was going to scold her using expressions then he should at least have the decency to get them right.

"That's be on your guard, Omi" Raimundo sighed.

Kimiko leaned forward in her chair and saw Raimundo and Clay approaching from the temple. Both were wearing shorts and a thin vest, the heat had plastered their hair to their faces and beads of sweat poured from their heads. Kimiko giggled at the sight. The poor boys were literally melting from the heat.

"Howdy partners" Clay said as he took off his hat, wiping away the sweat. "This is some awful heat, aint it?"

He then began using his hat as a fan to try and cool him off. Raimundo took a rather liking to the idea and a mysterious freak wind blew the cowboy hat from Clay's hand. The hat glided through the air towards the Dragon of the Wind, whom caught it and took to also using it to cool himself off.

"Hey!" Clay shouted angrily, his nostrils flaring.

Raimundo jumped up in the air, avoiding Clay whom had charged like a raging bull towards him in an attempt to take back his prize possession. The Dragon of Wind let out a laugh as Clay crashed straight into a bewildered Omi, sending the two crashing in a tangle of limbs across the yard.

"So much for expect the unexpected, huh Omi?" Kimiko grinned, cherishing the sweet taste of revenge.

Raimundo laughed, then went over to the lounge chair. Kimiko scooted over and crossed her legs, giving Raimundo plenty of room to sit.

"I call it karma" Raimundo shrugged.

"Ahhh karma. One of life's few certainties" Dojo drawled nostalgically.

"Indeed that is true" Master Fung nodded in agreement. With a scolding glance he added, "As I am sure you very familiar with Dojo Kanojo Cho."

It was an obvious dig at some past antic that Dojo had been involved in. Dojo recoiled as though recalling a bitterly bad memory.

Kimiko and Raimundo looked at each other, both realising that Master Fungs comment was most definitely a dig at Dojo, and that there was certainly a story in there somewhere. If not one, then many. A story that they would most certainly have to find out.

"Hey now that's uncalled for!" Dojo snapped, tossing aside his mirror. He pointed a talon at Master Fung. "I learnt my lesson! Alright! Just… just took me a little while longer than most…"

"I take it Dojo's had quite a few run in's with karma, huh?" Kimiko grinned, fishing for any information on the story behind the dig.

Master Fung sighed, "One is meant to learn from ones mistake. But in Dojos case he learns after the…"

"Millionth time?" Raimundo interrupted.

His comment earned him a glaring scowl from the lizard. "Hey! That's not true! I learn from my mistakes just as well as the next person! Tell them Master Fung!"

Raimundo and Kimikos laughter only made Dojos attempt to have Master Fung agree with him more urgent. Master Fung however, simply stood in silence shaking his head.

"Master Fung! Tell em!" Dojo whined, darting up to sit on the old monks shoulder.

Omi, whom had finally managed to untangle himself from Clay, appeared beside Master Fung.

"Master Fung is silent because one cannot argue with the truth, Dojo" Omi laughed.

"There you all go again! Completely disregarding me and everything I say!" Dojo snapped, crossing his arms in a huff.

Raimundo and Omi burst out laughing while Kimiko tried to stifle a giggle. She knew they shouldn't be teasing the little dragon, especially considering how sensitive he could be. But sometimes you just couldn't help it. He just made it too easy and his reactions were always the most adorable things.

"What is it Dojo did to deserve the wrath of karma anyway?" Kimiko asked.

Dojo began protesting wildly, his arms frantically swaying in the air as he begged Master Fung not to tell.

"I'm afraid that shall be a story for another time" Master Fung said dismissively, sparring Dojo any further embarrassment. The little lizard beamed up at Master Fung with thankful eyes at his mercy.

"Hey guys, is it just me or is it getting hotter out here?" Raimundo mumbled while closing his eyes, using Clays hat to fan himself more vigorously.

A large dark shadow fell over him.

"Shade! Oh finally! Clouds are finally here! Let's hope that's the rain going to…" Raimundo opened one eye to see a raging Clay, steam hissing through his nostrils.

"Start" Raimundo finished weakly before being seismic kicked half way across the temple garden.

If there was one lesson that Raimundo should have learned by now, and clutched onto for dear life and refuse to let go no matter the cost, then it was the lesson to never. _Ever_. Touch. Clays Hat. Ever! Unless you wanted the beaten of the century!

Clay's hat gently glided down to sit beside Kimiko. Timidly, Kimiko picked it up and with a weak smile handed it to Clay.

"Heh, heh. Here you go Clay!"

Clay took it and placed back on its rightful home a top his head.

"Thank you, Kimiko" Clay said with a tilt of his hat.

"So Master Fung, what is our plan of action for this afternoons training?" Omi asked, somersaulting up in the air then landing with his hands above his head then moving onto the crouching tiger position.

"Are you kidding?" Raimundo cried as he dragged himself back towards the group. He cracked his back, a bruise forming as a result of Clays attack, then wiped a wave of sweat from his brow. "You expect us to train in this scorching heat!"

"We must train in order to prepare ourselves for when evil next attacks!" Omi chided, hopping in the air and landing on the lounge chair beside Kimiko.

"Oh come on Omi" Kimiko groaned, "We train all the time. One afternoon off won't make a huge difference."

All Kimiko wanted was to laze about and soak up the sunshine. She wanted to enjoy and relish this short break on Shen Gong Wu collecting and get as much out of it as she could. What was one silly little lesson going to do for them anyway?

"I am afraid that is not quite true, young Dragon of Fire" Master Fung said solemnly.

"Oh great" Raimundo mumbled. "Here comes more gibberish wisdom from the Fungster."

Master Fung's eye twitched but he made no further comment on Raimundos interruption. "A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One days' worth of training could be the defining difference between victory… and defeat."

"Now if you don't mind me saying, but that saying sounds awfully familiar to me" Clay said, rubbing his chin.

Kimiko titled her head thoughtfully, snapping her without sound as though trying to summon the knowledge. Her face lit up, a light bulb appearing above her head as her fingers finally made a loud clicking noise. Clay was right when he said he knew that saying, so did she!

"The movie Mulan!"

"That's where a've heard it from!" Clay grinned.

"You've seen Mulan?" Kimiko asked Dojo and Master Fung.

"Of course we've seen it. My cousin Mushu's in it after all" Dojo said casually.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold your horses!" Clay interrupted. "Mushu's your cousin?"

"Twice removed" Dojo explained with a shrug.

Clay, Raimundo and Kimiko started laughing.

"Wow never mind that! What I can't believe is you and Master Fung would watch any movie, let alone Disney movies!" Kimiko said astonished. "I bet that's where you get all your wise words of wisdom from!"

"I didn't even know this old place even had a television let alone a DVD player…" Raimundos laughter came to an abrupt halt as he processed the knowledge. "Hold up! Does this place have a television?"

Dojo snorted, "What do you think me and Master Fung do when you guys are off running about in your free time. Of course we have a television!"

"Do we?" Omi asked bewildered, looking up at Master Fung "How come I did not know this! I have been here my whole life! How could I not know this!"

Master Fung face palmed himself, and Dojo cringed, realising he had let slip something he wasn't meant to.

"I demand an explanation!" Omi shouted, pointing a finger accusingly at Dojo. "Now make the beans spill out!"

Raimundo shook his head and folded his arms. "You mean 'spill the beans'."

"That is what I said!"

"No" Raimundo stress out, "You said…"

Dojo let out a yelp, catching everyone's attentions. He leapt off of Master Fungs shoulder and started jumping up and down, his tail twirling around wildly. His scales bristled, causing an itchy sensation to wash over the dragon. "Hold up gang. We gotta live one. A new Shen Gong Wu is revealing itself!"

Pulling out the scroll, he laid it down beside Kimiko on the lounge chair. Everyone gathered around and watched the image play out. A paint brush with a green star appeared on the scroll before warping in a mash of swirling blues and blacks into the image of a man holding the Shen Gong Wu and using it on a tapestry of a person. The person in the tapestry jumped out of the frame as though brought to real life.

"The Ana Ana Animator" Dojo stated. "It allows the user to bring any image, reflection or drawing into the real life world."

Dojo rolled up the scroll and changed into his fifty foot dragon form. The Xiaolin warriors all leapt up onto his back.

"So where is The Ana Ana Animator hidden anyways?" Kimiko asked as Dojo took to the air.

Dojo pondered on it for a moment. "I'm pretty sure it's in Antarctica, if I remember correctly."

Red alarms went ringing left, right, and centre. At the moment Kimiko was only wearing a pair of black denim shorts and a green tank top. The guys were also wearing extremely thin clothing due to the apparent heat wave they were suffering from.

"We can't go dressed like this!" Kimiko shouted, leaping off of Dojo and heading straight for the temple. Although she could take the heat, the cold was a whole other ball game.

"Typical female" Omi shook his head. "It must be exhausting to constantly worry about your attire and hair."

The words 'typical female' next to each other in the same sentence sent Kimiko's temper flaring. She hated how Omi always assumed everything she did was simply because she was a girl. It was frustrating beyond compare. Always being judged because she was a girl, something she had no control over. If anyone was going to judge her then judge her on who she was, not what she was!

"Omi! Look at what everyone's wearing! We'll all catch our death of cold!" Kimiko snapped. Common sense should dictate to him that changing into more appropriate attire was the smart thing to do.

"We do not have time to change! At this very moment the forces of evil are already beating us to the Shen Gong Wu!" Omi protested, jumping up and pointing towards the sky. "And what do you mean catch hold of death! One cannot catch death! And at current time we have more pressing matters to deal with!"

"That's not what she said or meant" Raimundo said with a roll of his eyes.

Clay scratched his head, looking down at his clothes. "Sorry little buddy, but am afraid I agree with the little miss. It's mighty cold up in Antarctica. It's best if we change first. That and we need to get some Shen Gong Wu to fight with."

Omi glanced at everyone's clothes, then with a reluctant sigh nodded.

"Very well, but let us hurry!" Omi said, leaping down from Dojo and rushing past Kimiko into the temple. He stopped at the entrance and turned to his teammates. "Chip chip!"

Raimundo shook his head in frustration, at time the little monk aggravated him to wits end. "That's chop chop! Not, aghh forget it. I don't even know why I bother sometimes."

* * *

Dojo and Master Fung watched as the young warriors disappeared into the temple.

"The Ana Ana Animator will be a most powerful weapon if used by one who knows how to utilize its powers to its full potential."

Dojo shrugged, "So are all the Shen Gong Wu in the right hands. But as I recall the Ana Ana Animator wasn't anything too special.

"Where exactly in Antarctica is it located, Dojo?"

Dojo scratched his head, biting on his lower lip in concentration.

If he remembered correctly, though one had to remember how poor the dragon's memory could be at times, then he and Dashi had hidden the Ana Ana Animator in the Fields of Enchantment. No, that couldn't be right. Images of grassy flowery fields that sparkled and shimmered with magical essence flickered through his mind. The fields didn't fit in with Antarctica. He almost slapped himself when he remembered the fields had been relocated a few hundred years back to Sweden.

Perhaps it was the top of the Ice Mountain of Death? The snow fields of treachery? Hmmm, where oh where had he hidden that Wu?

"Dojo?" Master Fung pushed for an answer, raising an eyebrow at the dragon.

"I'm not one hundred per cent sure. I'm torn between the snow fields of treachery or maybe the Blizzard Hill Region of Doom and Gloom. Hmmm…"

Dojo thwacked his tail off this ground as he sifted through the memories of all those years ago. If only he could have convinced Dashi to catalogue everything; it would have made life so much easier!

Changing Chop Sticks; Easter Island.

Lotus Twister; the amazon. Note; Bring bug spray!

Monkey Staff; Spikey Mountains of Perish!

Tangle Web Comb; Scotland, at the bottom of Loch Ness. Have a nice swim! P.S Dojo remember to say hi to your cousin Nessie, you know how huffy she gets when she doesn't get attention.

Ana Ana Animator; Antarctica in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment.

Silk Spinner…

Dojo backtracked to the last Shen Gong Wu, snapping his fingers in recollection. Bingo!

"Ha! I remember now! The Ana Ana Animator is in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment! Ha! I knew I should have gotten Dashi to invest in a cataloguing system, eh… oh" Dojos excitement was cut off when he saw the worried expression on Master Fungs face.

"The Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment" Master Fung said lightly. "You and the others must take extra caution on this journey."

Dojo's eyes widened in realization. "Ohhh, this'll be a tuff one."

"I am afraid it will be a most difficult challenge" Master Fung said gravely as he began walking towards the temple.

As he reached the temple the young warriors came racing out, all dressed in winter gear.

"Prepare yourself young ones. What lies ahead..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Raimundo cut in with a wave of his hand. "Will be one of our most challenging challenges. If we fail this challenge the fate of the world will fall into the hands of darkness. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Geese, we get it already. Don't screw up."

Master Fung breathed in deeply from his nostrils, keeping his anger at bay. One day the young Shoku leader would learn to listen and respect his words. But it seemed like Dojo, he would have to learn the hard way.

The young monks hopped up onto Dojo's back. The three boys were pulling at their clothes and fanning themselves with their hands to try and cool themselves due to the heat. Only Kimiko didn't seem to mind the ungodly warmth.

"I reckon we ought to leave before Spicer or worse gets to the wu before us. That and before we melt like an ice cream in the afternoon sun" Clay said, fanning himself with his hat while keeping a steady eye on their leader in case he made another go for his hat again.

"Before you leave a word of warning" Master Fung looked to his students to see he had their attentions. "The Shen Gong Wu is located in the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment. These caves are a series of tunnels walls, ceiling and floors are lined with ice that can reflect ones imagine like a mirror."

"So it's shiny ice. What's so special about it?" Raimundo asked, wiping away sweat from his head.

"The mirror image often, when one least suspects it, reflects ones inner most self, their desires of what they could be, their dreams of what they wish they could be, or even… their greatest fears of the may become."

Raimundos eyes widened at that, "Hold up! So are you telling me I might run into my Jelly fish monster?"

Clay perked up and looked at Master Fung in horror. "What about my Granny Lilly?"

Having to re-face their worst fears, despite having conquered them before, was not the most appealing of thoughts. Just because they did it once, did it really mean they could do it again?

"Only If that is what you fear becoming" Master Fung responded, turning to head back into the temple.

A collective sigh of relief flooded the group. Only Kimiko found herself holding her breath. What did Master Fung mean by 'what you fear becoming?'

Red eyes and a feeling of pure evil flashed through Kimiko like a flash of lightening. She shivered, but swiftly repressed the feeling.

"Well that's a reliever" Raimundo sighed thankfully.

"Come on guys!" Kimiko said suddenly and in an all too upbeat manner that contrasted deeply with the unnerving feeling dwelling deep inside her. "We gotta go! Spicer's going to beat us to the wu! Lead the way, Dojo. To the Ice Mirror Caves of Enlightenment."

* * *

(A/N) What do you think? Bad? Good? Hmmm and what do you suppose Kimikos greatest fear is? Find out in the next chapter.

Now for anyone wondering about when the romance takes place, it will be later on. I want to develop their relationship slowly and not rush into it as I want it to be as realistic as possible. I kinda think that if these two characters where to ever develop any form of relationship that it would be something similar to Caroline and Klaus from The Vampire Diaries.

For those that don't know, Klaus is an evil thousand year old hybrid (cross between a werewolf and vampire. Very powerful. Very scary). Caroline (who happens to be a vampire) is a sweet, kind, good person, who always looks out for her friends and tries to fix everything. They're not a couple, but they do have a very complex relationship. Klaus pursuing Caroline much to her displeasure. Caroline doesn't want anything to do with him because he's done hundreds of horrible things in the past, but despite this she finds herself struggling not to forget about them because she dose enjoy his company from time to time. He is quite a nice guy... once you get passed his killing sprees and murderous temper that is.

Anyways, feel free to give me any tips, advice, suggestions or ask any questions. Or point out any mistakes I've made, I haven't watched the whole series in a long time and have only started re-watching episodes so I might get mixed up at times.

**Next Chapter:** Mirror Madness!

**Summary:** Inside the Ice Mirror Caves of Enchantment, the gang discover the Shen Gong Wu. But they're not the only ones… Xiaolin Showdown time!

**Kimiko Vs. ?**


	2. Glimpse

**Chapter 2: Glimpse **

**(A/N) **Wow! Thank you guys and gals for the lovely reviews, alerts and favs. I'm glad I got a good response for the first chapter. Puts a smile on my face whenever I see someone likes my work. Hopefully you'll continue to enjoy the story as it progresses.

Anyways, I always give a big shout out for all those who took the time to review, so big special thank you to;

CrazyBitchair: Thanks for reviewing! And im glad ur enjoying it so far. I'll do my best to try and make the romance as realistic as possible so there may not be romance for a while :)

Guest: Thank you!

Guest: Aww thanks!

AnonymousDarkWriter: Thank you! I'm actually quite a big fan of your stories so its awesome getting a review from you! Thanks!

Finley: Thank you! I'm going to try and update my other stories soon, key word being try. I've just been really busy with college so I barely have time to write. Hopefully I'll have a chance to update this story some more and also 'Lucky or Unlucky?'

HappyTheDragon: Thanks! In the next chapter we'll get to see the AnaAna Anaimator at work and in this chapter you get a brief taste of what the Caves of Enlightenment are capable of.

Guest:Thank you!

Ann4ever17: Thanks for reviewing! I'm a big time klaroline shipper too! Love em to bits! I doubt I'll be able to pull off anything quite as epic as the klaroline relationship but I'm definitely going to give it my best shot at giving Chamiko that sort of relationship!

On another note, I had to cut down this chapter as it was getting way too long and would have taken even longer to write which meant longer to update, so the showdown will be in the next chapter: Mirror Madness. For anyone curious about when Kimiko and Chase will get sent to the reverse world it'll be in chapter three, possibly four.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of the characters from the show or any other characters from other shows/movies mentioned.

* * *

_"A person should try to understand dreams. A person should take warning from them." _  
_Emily Wing Smith-Back When You Were Easier to Love _

* * *

Dojo ripped through the sky, ploughing through the field of rainy clouds that lay before him. A strong wind blew in his face, causing his now wet mane to blow wildly behind him.

Clutching onto the scales on his back were the Xiaolin warriors whom braced themselves against the elements as they slashed against their skin.

"Oh man" Raimundo whined, wincing as the rain lashed down more heavily."Could this weather get any worse?"

"Don't tempt…" Dojo began but a flash of lightening lit up the sky in an electric blue light, followed with the crackle of thunder. "Fate" he muttered dryly with a sigh.

"Oh, how much longer till we get to Antarctica, Dojo?" Kimiko asked, tightly grasping onto her woolly hat to prevent it from blowing away. Her two pig tails that hung out from either side of her hat whipped around her face angrily. "I don't think my hair can take much more of this!"

"We should be there in another five or ten minutes" Dojo yelled behind him as he plunged through another cloud.

The warriors felt their stomachs drop as the dragon sharply descended before spiralling up higher into the clouds.

"Hold on kids, I'm gonna take us above the clouds so we can get out of this storm!"

"Why didn't ya do that in the first plate, ya Dojo!" Clay shouted, both hands clutching onto his hat as though his very life depended on it.

The need to shout stopped when Dojo broke through the stormy clouds. Everything seemed infinitely quieter up here, the only sound was the noise of the thundering clouds a fair distance below them. They all peered over Dojos sides and saw the thick sheet of grey clouds below flashing with the odd blue light of lightening. Up here, the sky was a darker blue than the baby blue they had grown accustomed to.

"Wow" Kimiko gasped, "How high into the atmosphere are we Dojo?"

Dojo tapped his talon off his chin in thought. "I'm pretty sure this is the stratosphere and by far the highest point we can get to before it becomes way too difficult for you guys to breath. We're pretty much border lining the mesosphere" Dojo said as he steered to the left. "Now you might find it's a bit tougher to breathe up here and start to feel a little light-headed but don't worry, we'll only be up here for a few minutes while I fly us over this storm. So just hold on till then."

Kimiko took a slow, deep breath. Now that Dojo mentioned it she realised it was getting quite difficult to breath. She could feel her eye lids getting heavier and a soft wave of tiredness threatening to envelope her.

'_Don't go to sleep, Kimiko_' she chided herself. They had a wu to find, sleep should be the furthest thing from her mind. And yet here it was, whispering sweet seductions of slumber to her conscious mind.

Perhaps it was just the effects of having lazed out in the sun all day finally kicking in. The strong heat, although it hadn't burned her or bothered her in anyway, seemed to have that effect on everyone causing them to feel dozy and sapped off energy.

A quick little nap before they arrived couldn't hurt, would it? After all, they had sometime before they arrived at the location of the wu. If anything a bit of shut eye may help her feel more energetic and alert. Really she knew it wouldn't and would instead leave her feeling groggy, but the appeal of sleep was far too tempting for Kimiko to not succumb to.

Besides, Omi would wake her up when they were nearly there.

Gently, she tucked her head into Dojos mane and allowed her eyes to gently drift shut, engulfing her vision into darkness.

* * *

_The nightmare came again, only this time it was different._

_For one thing, it didn't start in the middle of the graveyard. Instead it carried off from where it always left off, with her standing before the silver mirror with her darker self watching her intently. Another difference was it wasn't like an out of self experience she had grown accustomed to; it was almost like she was actually in the dream, but not in control of anything she was doing or seeing. She was watching everything through the eyes of her dream self. She was nothing more than a spectator trapped within her own dream._

_She watched as the red of her sleeves came into vision as her hand gently placed itself upon the icy glass before her. _

_With an almost feline grace, the dark Kimiko rose her hand and pointed to something in the distance. _

_Curious, Kimiko felt herself turn. What she saw sent a rush of fear sweeping over her._

_Two pairs of black eyes seemingly glowing in the snowy white mist, their owners nothing more than a dark blur of shadows standing between the silhouetted crooked trees and warped up roots. _

_When the dark figure didn't move, Kimiko found herself taking a cautious step forward against her will. All she really wanted to do was run, run far away and never look back. She wanted to get away from the strange mirror girl and away from the fathomless pair of black eyes; but her body was moving on its own accord._

_As she drew closer, she started to be able to make out the figures… but it wasn't two people like she had first thought. Instead she could only make out one dark shape which meant that all four eyes must belong to only one being. _

_Something like Déjà vu swept through her. There was something… something about those eyes that seemed hauntingly familiar to her. The black eyes were filled with an almost childish mirth, a wild energy contained within them pricked at her memory once more._

_Something inside her, something deep within her whispered urgently to her that she knew those eyes, that she had seen them before. But whose eyes were they?_

_Finally, when she was but a few feet away her body came to a stop. _

_A strong breeze suddenly stirred the air, blowing away the mist that cloaked the owner of the dark eyes. Squinting to make out the figure in the darkness, Kimiko began to take another step forward. She could almost make out the shape of-_

_A hand suddenly clamped down on Kimikos shoulder. _

_Inwardly Kimiko let out a scream as terror clutched at her heart. Struggling with all her will, Kimiko managed to slowly crane her head around. A barely audible gasp escaped her lips as came face to face with the owner of the hand on her shoulder._

_It was dark Kimiko._

_'She's out the mirror... She's out the mirror!' Kimiko's inner voice shrilled, barely being heard over the sound of her thundering heart._

_Kimiko felt her eyes widen and her mouth go dry._

_ Never... in any of her dreams had her reflection broken out._

_The glass had always served as a protection. An impenetrable barrier that separated the two girls. But now here they were, face to face, with dark Kimiko even breaking the touch barrier with her fingers digging harshly into Kimikos shoulder. _

_With a smirk, dark Kimiko titled her head, looking at Kimiko as someone would do an interesting toy. Then faster than she could register, the black clad warrior moved forward, grasping her arm and bending it painfully behind her back, forcing Kimiko to turn around and face where the creature in the mist had been lurking._

"_Open your eyes" a voice, so much like hers that Kimiko almost believed she herself had said the words, whispered in her ear. _

_Wincing as her __capturer twisted her arm harder, Kimiko obeyed._

_Her eyes widened and her heart dropped._

"_Sibini?" _

* * *

"Kimiko, you must wake up! Dojo insists that it is bad for one to sleep at such high altitudes" Omi said as he roughly shook the sleeping girl awake.

With a start Kimiko shot up from Dojos mane, bumping into Omi who had been leaning over her to shout in her ear. The two butted heads and fell backwards with a yelp of pain.

"Owe!" Kimiko whined, rubbing her now aching head.

Omi lay flat on his back, little stars encircling his head as his eyes were replaced by swirls. Shaking his head, the little monk sat up and placed both hands on his head in an attempt to sooth the pain and cease the circling of the stars.

"Try and stay awake kiddo, we're almost there" Dojo called back.

"Ugh, thanks Dojo" Kimiko muttered, leaning backwards so her back was against Dojos mane. "How long have I been out?"

Omi removed his hands from his head and moved to sit crossed legged in front of Kimiko, his hands slipping into the sleeves of his robes. "I believe you were counting to the out for five or so minutes."

"You mean 'out for the count'" Kimiko corrected.

Little question marks of confusion popped around Omi's head as he thought over the correction of the saying. "I do not see how…"

The sound of Raimundo and Clays heated voices caught the other two warrior's attention, causing them to look over to where the other two boys were sitting, currently in a heated argument.

"And what's got them so riled up?" Kimiko asked with a quirked eyebrow as she watched steam hiss from Clays nostrils.

"Something or other, I am not too sure. I took the towel and threw it away as to trying to follow their foolish argument."

Kimiko blinked once, then twice.

"I think he means 'he threw in the towel'" Dojo suggested with a shrug to a confused Kimiko.

"Ah" Kimiko drawled. "That makes more sense."

"Besides, unlike some" Omi casted a disapproving glance at Raimundo whom somehow seemed to sense the other monks gaze and turned to look at him, "I am a disciplined warrior who is above such pitiful things as arguments."

"Excuse me?" Raimundo shouted in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me! All we ever do is argue…"

"No more arguments" Dojo cut in before the raging Raimundo could explode. "Don't make me come back there you two! You and Clay have already given me an aching headache with all your shouting."

"Well then tell cheese ball to, waah!" Raimundo let out a startled cry when Dojo nose-dived and spiralled down into the clouds.

The dragon of wind went flying backwards and barely managed to grab onto the scruff of Dojos tail. He clung to it for dear life, screaming all the while as the air rushed against his face.

"Hold on partner!" Clay shouted back to Raimundo, taking out his lasso. "But first things first. Admit that I was right and you were wrong!"

"What! Are you kidding!" Raimundo screamed.

"Clay! Help him!" Kimiko shouted over the rushing wind.

"Not until he admits that I was right and he was…"

"What are you talking about? Right about what?" Kimiko hissed, turning her head to look at Clay.

She could tell with one look at his face that whatever it was Clay was talking about that he wasn't going to budge until Raimundo complied. Clay could be stubborn when he wanted to, a trait she assumed was attributed to his element. She looked past the Dragon of Earth and back to the Dragon of Wind.

"Raimundo, I don't know what you two were arguing about but just apologize or admit you were wrong!" Kimiko shouted angrily.

"No way! He's completely wrong!" Raimundo yelled back, his voice becoming horse from all the shouting. "I'd rather fall the last thousand feet than admit…"

"Are you kidding me? Are you really willing to die rather than admitting you were wrong?" Kimiko shouted furiously. "Just say it!"

Raimundo looked down and saw the ground rushing to meet them. His hands were becoming sweaty and he could feel Dojos tail hairs slipping through his hands. He gulped down his pride.

"Fine! I admit it! Goo Zombies one was better than Goo Zombies the Return!" Raimundo screamed. "You happy now?"

Clays lasso encircled Raimundos waist just as the tail slipped from his grasp. He let out a cry as he went flying backwards before beginning yanked back onto Dojos back by Clay pulling on the rope.

"There you go partner, now that wasn't so hard was it?" Clay grinned as he roped in his lasso.

Kimiko shook her head angrily. Were the boys really so immature? Really? The urge to slap them upside the head and scold them was rather tempting but she bit it back. Then again, if they thought Goo Zombie one or Goo Zombie The Return was better than Goo Zombie Revenge then she might just have to knock some sense into them.

Scolding and beating them would have to wait till later though, as snow began descending from the sky. Kimiko looked up at awe at the sight of billions of snowflakes gently falling from the sky.

"Wow" she whispered at the angelic sight.

"Did you know guys…" Kimiko began softly, catching all the boys attention. "That every single snowflake that falls is unique? Not a single one has the same pattern."

Omi looked in fasciation, putting his hands up to catch the snow and allow it to build up upon his hand. He looked at it with a tilt of his head. "Really? That is most amazing. But surely there is a least one the same with their being so many?"

Kimiko shook her head slowly, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Nope. Everyone's different and unique."

"Where did you learn about that?" Omi asked curiously.

The words left her mouth before she could stop them. "My mum told me."

The confession caused a silence to fall over the monks.

"Hey Kimiko" Raimundo began timidly. "If you don't mind me asking, what's the deal with your mum, like is she…"

Dojo let out an ungodly sneeze and sharply flipped over, knocking everyone off his back. They all let out a scream as they free fell the last few feet and landed in the snow. Kimiko was the first to pop her head out of the snow, shaking the snowflakes from her hair and hat with a vigorous shake of her head.

Raimundo and Clay popped up next and let out a groan.

"Geese Dojo! Mind giving us the heads up first next time?" Raimundo whined as he and Clay freed themselves from the snow which they had been buried to their waists in.

"Sorry guys, I think my allergies are kicking up again" Dojo sniffed, pulling a handkerchief from seemingly nowhere and blowing his dripping nose.

After blowing his nose he dangled the handkerchief at arm's length from himself. Kimiko and the guys looked at the once white cloth that was now green and dripping with mucus. The monks all blenched, feeling sick at the disgusting sight.

"Hey, where's shorty?" Dojo said, sniffling as he felt another sneeze approaching.

"Over here!" a muffled cry that sounded like Omi came from behind the warriors.

Everyone peeked behind Clay and saw a little snowman with a striking resemblance to Omi. They all approached it and Kimiko called out Omi's name. The snowman literally jumped in response, some of the snow falling to reveal the top of Omi's yellow head.

"We'll get you out there, little buddy" Clay said and dug his hands into the snow and pulled out the shivering little monk.

"That was most appreciated, Clay" Omi said through chattering teeth.

"Come on guys, we need to hurry up and get to the wu!" Raimundo said, crossing his arms. He turned to Dojo, "Right, now where are these caves?"

Dojo pointed a talon over his shoulder.

Behind Dojo was an enormous snowy mountain. At its base a few feet away were two large rotten wooden doors about thirty feet high with two rusted door handles shaped in the form of ancient dragons coiled in on themselves. The massive doors were a rather daunting sight and immediately sent the monks on edge.

"Allow me to present The Caves of Enlightenment!" Dojo announced, gesturing with an exaggerated grandness towards the cave entrance.

Raimundo gulped. "Well… let's go!"

* * *

It took the combined effort of all the monks to push open the door. Once inside they were greeted with a tunnel of eerie darkness.

"Looks inviting" Dojo nodded, "I think I'll wait outside."

Dojo turned to leave when the doors closed shut with an almighty slam on their own accord. With the light from the entrance gone, everything plunged into darkness.

"Or I can… come along with you guys" Dojo laughed nervously, feeling around in the darkness for someone. Anyone!

"Hey Kimiko, mind shedding us a little light?" Clay asked as he squinted into the darkness.

"Sure thing" Kimiko shrugged, then alighted her hand with a bright flame.

The tunnel lit up and the monks were able to see everything more clearly. It was a large tunnel, about twenty feet high. The walls of ice were riddled with spider web like cracks, giving them a mosaic like appearance. Every shape, made by the cracks of the ice, reflected the warriors reflections as perfectly as mirror, one could hardly tell it was ice at all.

"Neat!" Raimundo whistled, watching as the thousands of mirrors reflected him and the others at different angles.

"Oh it's neat now, but just you wait till it starts reflecting your inner most self, or your deepest fear or desire!" Dojo said as he scurried over to Clay and scuttled up his leg, chest, around his neck and onto his hat.

"Right the fear thing I can get but what's the dilly with seeing your greatest desires and stuff" Raimundo shrugged. "What's so bad about that?"

"Me, and my old friends, Toothless and Puff, came here once on a dare once. Turns out Puff had a secret desire to become a magicians…"

"Let me guess, you guys saw his reflection as him dressed as a magician" Raimundo tried to finish for Dojo.

"Not quite. Now… _if_ you had let me finish" Dojo remarked crossly, folding his arms. "Turns out he had a secret desire to be a magician assistants. Pink tutu and all. He ain't called puff the magic dragon for nothing, you know. Toothless never let him live it down." Dojo said sadly, shaking his head.

"So we might get a little red faced, ain't the worse that could happen" Clay shrugged.

Dojo shook his head, muttering something inaudible under his breath.

They all started walking further into the cave, Kimikos flame the only source of light in the darkness.

"Just wait and you'll see what I mean. Now you all have to promise me that anything you see relating to me in here stays in here! Don't go gossiping to anyone or using it against me!" Dojo said, peering over the edge of Clays hat to look at the cowboy.

"No promises there Dojo" Clay laughed.

They walked in silence for a short while, following the tunnel. Sometimes they came to forks in the path and would take a vote on whether to go left or right, or in some cases up or down. Eventually they came to four way split in the tunnel.

"Looks like we'll need to split up. Let's go guys!" Raimundo said.

"And what are you guys going to use for light?" Kimiko asked with a quirked eyebrow, tossing her ball of flame in the air then catching it again in her palm.

Dojo placed a talon on one side of his nose, effectively shutting close one of his nostrils. He blew hard, causing three items to spill out. Pulling out the Changing Chop Sticks he enlarged the objects.

"Here you guys, three wooden sticks. Kimiko can set em alight and we can use em as torches."

Kimiko snapped her fingers and all three torches were set a flame with bright orange flames. Dojo handed one to each boy. And with that done, the warriors each took a different path. Kimiko went down the one to the right, her hand held out to her side alight with her flame. The only sound was her soft footsteps clicking off icy floor.

"Where oh where is that wu?" Kimiko sung quietly.

After half an hour of wondering down the path, every so often having to decide between left or right, something caught the corner of her eye. Stopping, she turned to her left to look. All she saw was her reflections mimicking her actions. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary there.

"Strange… I could have sworn I saw…" a gasp escaped her lips when her eyes landed on an image in one of the mirrors.

In a rectangular piece of mirror to her left there was her reflected back, only she was a bit older wearing a smart business outfit; a white blouse, navy blue jacket and matching pencil skirt. The image mimicked Kimiko's every movement, from her wide eyed expression to the way she slowly approached the mirror. Behind the other Kimiko was looked to be her papa's office.

_"The mirror image often, when one least suspects it, reflects ones inner most self, their desires of what they could be, their dreams of what they wish they could be, or even… their greatest fears of the may become."_

Master Fungs words echoed in her mind, and suddenly it all sort of made sense to her.

Ever since she was a little girl her father had made it clear that one day she could, if she wanted, take over his company when he retired. When she was younger she would imagine herself all dressed up in a business suit, working away busily in her father's office. She supposed the image reflected back had at one point been a desire of what she had thought she would one day become, a future she wasn't too sure she wished to pursue any longer.

She blinked. And the older Kimiko in her business attire was gone, replaced by how Kimiko appeared now. In her woolly hat and matching winter gear.

Shaking her head, she continued down the tunnel, now more vigilant than ever.

After having had a brief taste of the capability of the Caves of Enlightenment, she was beginning to see why Master Fung and Dojo had been worried. Seeing flickers of yourself as you had once desired to be brought with it an emotional baggage.

If someone had always wanted to be an astronaut but never succeeded then came here and saw themselves as one, it would bring with it pain and feeling of bitterness and regret. Seeing it was like a kick in the face, it was almost as though the mirrors were mocking you, taunting you for that which you failed to achieve.

For Kimiko, seeing herself as the new leader of her father company brought with it questions she had pushed to the back of her mind for so long. Questions on her future: when the time came would she take over her father's company? Did she really want to? Did she have a choice? Could she really just abandon her father company to wolves like Panda Bubba or someone else who could exploit it? Would her father want her to take it over rather than a stranger?

Questions like those where not ones she wished to think of right now. In truth she'd rather not think of them. Ever. But of course she couldn't run away from them forever. But that didn't mean she wouldn't try!

In her head she felt like she had no choice but to take it over one day. But a part of her, deep within her, told her she didn't want to take it over. If she did then it meant her future had been set in stone from the day of her birth into the Tohomiko family. It meant that no matter what she did she had always meant to go straight back to the company, take it over and work there for the rest of her days.

And that was a fate that she didn't want.

She wanted to weave her own fate.

With a sigh Kimiko shrugged off the unwanted thoughts. She had to concentrate on retrieving the wu.

After a while she finally came to a large cavern that was brightly lit from the sunlight steaming through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Unlike the tunnels, the walls of this cavern were unbroken and lacked the mosaic appearance. Instead the mirrors that coated the walls stretched from the ground and arched all the way up to the dome like ceiling.

In the centre of the cavern atop of heap of snow and ice a shimmering golden light caught her attention. It was the Sheng Gong Wu!

"Bingo!" Kimiko grinned.

Wasting no time Kimiko rushed forward and leapt up to the top of the heap. With a victorious smile she reached a hand out to grab it by the thin handle. What she didn't expect however, was to feel cold leather wrap around that same hand.

Kimiko froze as she looked at the black leather glove wrapped around the top of her hand and the Ana Ana Animator.

Slowly, her eyes drifted from the shimmering wu, up the armour plated chest of her opponent and straight into a pair of smirking golden eyes.

"Chase Young" Kimiko growled.

* * *

**(A/N) I was going to make this longer and have the showdown in this chapter but it was getting way too long and it meant it would have taken even longer for me to update. Sorry for how long this took me to update but life has, alas, been hectic. **

**So, what do you guys and gals think? What does Kimiko's reoccurring dream mean? And why did she see Sibini in it? Also who will win the showdown? Kimiko... or Chase Young? **

**If you have any questions, tips, advice or suggestions please feel free to say :) Thanks for taking the time to read this! xx**

**P.S In case anyone doesn't know yet Xaiolin showdown is back! Its called Xaiolin Chronicles!**


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